Dozens of people from Oakland and the East Bay showed up at Lake Merritt yesterday to commemorate 510 Day, a celebration of the area’s history and culture that’s been happening on May 10 every year since 2016.
For the second year in a row due to the pandemic, most of the day’s festivities took place online in the evening—but the party kicked off with a car and pedestrian caravan early on Monday afternoon at Lake Merritt. And although turnout for the event was modest compared to pre-pandemic years, the mood was lively. The caravan started at the Cleveland Cascade staircase on Lakeshore Avenue and went around the whole of Lake Merritt, passing by shops and restaurants like Lake Chalet and Ahn’s Burger, with onlookers waving in support of the event. Throughout the day, revelers played music, shared food, and waved signs with prideful messages like “We Still Here,” “Real Town Biz,” and “Oakland Against Gentrification.”
Last week, we published an interview with Leon “DNas” Sykes, one of the co-founders of 510 Day, who told us about the party’s origins and purpose. On Monday, The Oaklandside’s visual journalist Amir Aziz was on hand to capture the scene in photos.
